[KatG]

I'm planning to do a bit of guerilla gardening. I want to cover some ugly walling so I'm looking for a ground cover/trailing plant. It will have to survive without water, and ideally it should be evergreen and grow quickly- rampant would be good. Ivy would be great but is slow and the site is very exposed with next to no shade.  Passiflora might do the trick. Any suggestions?

[David Bracey]

Here are a few suggestions: Humulus species, Ficus pumila, Rosa banksiae,Wisteria,Vitis coignetiae,Parthenoissus, Hedera canariensis, Ipomoea spp,Jasminum officinale,J. azoricum.  Some of these will need support.  You could also grow kiwis and gapevines.

[Trevor Australis]

  Hi David; are 'gapevines' jaw-droppingly good?

[Trevor Australis]

Can you get the Banana Passion vine where you are? It is evergreen and very tough, pretty bright pink and lilac flowers, edible orange skinned fruits and NO virus diseases.  tn

[John J]

Katerina, you mention ground cover/trailing plants, are you looking for one to grow up from the base of the wall or one to hang down from the top of the wall?

[David Bracey]

Trevor grapevines are jaw-droppingly good covered with Syrah or if you prefer Shiraz grapes.  i agree not spectacular but another choice.

[KatG]

Thanks for the suggestions, some of which are useful, but the word Guerilla was a clue to the fact that the wall/land is not mine and therefore I don't want anything showy or temperamental. It will be planted at the top of the wall and trail down. I'm inclined to think casting seed in Autumn will be the best solution.

[Umbrian]

Prostrate Rosemary looks stunning when hanging over a wall but would take quite a time to cover. It seems to take a year or so to get going but once on the move grows more quickly in my experience.

[David Bracey]

Capparis grows downhill if you can get it going.

[John J]

I find Chrysanthemoides incana to be fast growing and tough. The photo shows it growing down a 2 metre high wall. The soil at the top hardly warrants the name, it's rubbish but the plant doesn't care, and it gets little or no water during the summer. Asteriscus (sorry Pallenis maritima) behaves in a similar fashion. After all it grows naturally on rock faces.

[Helen B.]

You might try Bauhinia galpinii which grows into a huge clumps 12' across. It has lovely salmon flowers, trails nicely and doesn't need to be watered once established. I don't think it would attract too much attention. There is also a climbing bauhinia but it might need to be watered more, and I find it rather shapeless. Plumbago looks great down a bank but is probably too showy for your site. Good luck with the guerrilla gardening!

[Fleur Pavlidis]

Can I add another wall-covering project? Imagine a narrow balcony with just enough room for a plastic trough, facing east but shaded by huge pine trees. On the wall 1.5 metres high is a mess of ugly water and sewage pipes from the flat above. Any ideas for a self-clinging climber which can be grown in a trough and cover up the eye-sore?

[Trevor Australis]

How deep can the trough be? That will be the critical factor I think. Do you know the climbing alstroemeria Bomarea caldasii? It is evergreen and climbs but would need something to twine up and along. You'd need to encourage it to go where you want it to go to ensure even coverage. The flowers are very attractive. The plant has succulent tuberous roots like alstroemerias do.

[Alisdair]

Or Bomarea salsilla from Chile, which is perhaps more "mediterranean" in its seasonality? Not evergreen though!

[David Bracey]

Ficus pumila would do the job. You could try a selection of small leaved ivies of various colours and leaf shapes.  They are cheap and easily replaceable if there is a failure.